Naruto: Tale of the Kitsune
by Maileesaeya
Summary: AU. Naruto. A young, brilliant kunoichi of Hakumeigakure who just happens to be a demon fox reborn. Attending the Chuunin Exams in Konoha, she makes new friends, and finds an unexpected new home as events beyond her control are set into motion. FemNaru.
1. Chapter 1

**I had this whole long rant written out, but when I went to save it, I discovered that I'd auto-logged out of fanfiction (I write my A/Ns on the site). So, I'll keep it short: this fic came out on a whim, it will draw as much inspiration from Shinto mythology as I can, and I will probably be getting back to working on the rest of my stuff in two days, when I get back to my desktop instead of my sucky laptop.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the associated characters. I do own the OCs Kazahana Miyuki, Reikanna Yoshimi and Tsukino Miyako.  
**

* * *

"Hurry up, we're almost there!" called the redhead impatiently from well ahead of the group—well, most of them, anyway.

"Yeah, Miyuki-sensei!" called the blonde daughter of the redhead. "We're almost there!"

"Kushina-sama! Naruto-chan! Please, be patient!" said Kazahana Miyuki, no longer even bothering to hide her annoyance with the Uzumaki mother-daughter duo. Naruto's teammates, Reikanna Yoshimi and Tsukino Miyako both laughed at their sensei's irritation, but quickly shut up when Miyuki turned the evil eye on them.

The five kunoichi were making the journey from their home of Hakumeigakure no Sato in Uzu no Kuni—or to be more precise, what was left of Uzu no Kuni—to the Chūnin Exams held in Konohagakure no Sato of Hi no Kuni.

Originally, Uzu's ninja village had been named for the country—Uzugakure—but that village was destroyed in one of the opening battles of the Third Great Shinobi World War. The survivors, primarily kunoichi who had ended up in better positions to flee than the shinobi, had fled across the ninja world, including the then-pregnant Kazahana Mashiro, Miyuki's mother. After the end of the war, the survivors had all returned to the ruins of what had once been Uzu no Kuni to rebuild, finally giving birth to Hakumei after many years of hard work.

Uzumaki Kushina, however, had never made any secret of the feelings she'd developed for the legendary Konoha no Kiiroi Senkō, Namikaze Minato, whose strength and equally legendary **Hiraishin no Jutsu** had single-handedly won several major battles against Iwagakure no Sato of Tsuchi no Kuni. Minato was now the Yondaime Hokage, the leader of Konoha, and that guaranteed Kushina the chance to see him again.

From this, it could be inferred that Uzumaki Naruto was, in fact, the daughter of the Kiiroi Senkō, doubly so when you considered her sun blonde hair and sky blue eyes, and triply so if one had ever read the Gama Sennin Jiraiya's first novel, the Legend of the Gutsy Ninja, where the protagonist was named Naruto (though it should be noted that this Naruto was male). The book had failed as a seller, but Kushina and the people of Hakumei had greatly enjoyed it, and the beliefs and hopes that the protagonist represented had become the general goal of the populace.

However, while Minato, Jiraiya and Kakashi would all likely think just that, it was mostly just coincidental—mostly.

Twelve years ago, about seventh months after Minato became the Yondaime Hokage, only a year and a half after the end of the Third War, the mightiest of the legendary bijū, the Kyūbi no Yōko, came upon the survivors of Uzu as they began to found Hakumei. It had been immediately clear that it was headed towards a far more significant destination: Konoha.

A creature as powerful as Yōko could not be defeated by conventional means—killing the legendary bijū was a process that required several steps, some more complex than others, and a lot of luck. Fortunately, the people of Uzugakure were extraordinarily gifted, and one of their best, Tenmachi Shion, had stepped up to the task of sealing the Kyūbi in a way that only the Tenmachi Clan could. It had, sadly, cost her very life, ending the bloodline of her clan.

What she'd done was to seal away the Kyūbi within the womb of a particularly strong kunoichi—Kushina. Through the sealing, Yōko had been reincarnated into a human girl—Naruto.

While she'd probably taken on some of Minato's traits for reasons most preferred not to bother speculating on, it was generally regarded instead as a reflection of Naruto's purity, in opposition to the darkness she'd been as the Kyūbi.

Miyuki shook her head in frustration. She'd always been eager to help, and had readily jumped at the opportunity to teach Naruto, Yoshimi and Miyako. Now, she was seriously starting to regret that decision. True, all three of them were like sisters to her, but at times…

Miyuki might seem young for a Jōnin, but anyone could readily acknowledge her as one of Hakumei's best—which was why she'd been the favorite to teach these three. Besides being chosen by Yawarakai-te as its wielder, she had a natural affinity for the rare wind element chakra, and was also quite skilled with water, fire and lightning.

And, certainly, she wasn't any younger than Uchiha Itachi, perhaps the most dangerous criminal in the bingo book. And Hatake Kakashi had been even younger than her when he'd become a legend.

* * *

"Put him down… _now_," growled Uchiha Sasuke lowly, Sharingan flashing to life as he stared down the Suna nin with the face paint. "Or do you really want to cause trouble with the grandson of the Sandaime Hokage?"

"Just put him down, Kankurō, he's not worth it," said the blonde girl with the large fan on her back. Kankurō growled slightly, but did as asked, dropping Sarutobi Konohamaru to the ground. Konohamaru quickly rushed over to his friends behind Sasuke, who let out a small sigh.

"What are Suna nin doing in Konoha in the first place?" he asked evenly.

"We're here for the Chūnin Exams, of course," said the blonde. Sasuke nodded, turning to leave.

"Then don't cause any trouble," he said. "This is our village, and you're only guests. Keep that in mind." As he began to walk away with Konohamaru and his friends, a low voice stopped him.

"Before you go… tell me your name," it said. Sasuke looked back to see a third Suna nin, a boy his own age with red hair, rings around his eyes, a large gourd on his back, and an insane look in his eyes. He was standing between the other two, who were very clearly afraid of him. Sasuke was surprised he'd been able to appear without alerting him at all.

"It's customary to give your own name before asking for the name of another," he replied, curious about this all-too-clearly dangerous nin.

"Sabaku no Gaara," he replied in that same low, somewhat monotone voice.

"Uchiha Sasuke," said Sasuke, eyeing the nin carefully. He nodded and turned away, leading the others with him. Sasuke's eyes narrowed, and he crouched down so he could whisper to the three Academy students with him more easily.

"Be more careful around the village from now on," he said. "Until the exams are over, we'll have foreign ninja crawling all over the place, some of them even more unreasonable than that guy was."

"Okay, Sasuke," said Konohamaru before the three rushed off.

Sasuke straightened up and walked away, thinking about that Suna Genin. In some respects, the look in his eyes reminded him of the looks some of the Uchiha clansmen his older brother, Itachi, had killed several years prior. Sasuke vividly remembered that time.

Normally, Itachi was too busy to spend time with Sasuke, but he'd made a point of making time for him leading up to that incident. Itachi had told Sasuke several times that he loved him, and during that final time playing together, had sworn to Sasuke that his loyalty to Konoha and peace was absolute, and had made Sasuke promise to never follow the path of ambition, and to never trust the ambition of the Uchiha Clan. At the time, Sasuke hadn't understood.

And he hadn't understood even after Itachi became a criminal following his murder of their father, Uchiha Fugaku, and several other prominent clansmen.

But after several years, he'd come to understand. Itachi had cut off the head, but there were still remnants of the ambition and desire for power that seemed to Sasuke almost like a curse of the Uchiha blood, and he thanked Itachi for saving him from ever falling to that curse, and Sasuke knew that, if the time came, he would proudly follow in Itachi's footsteps.

* * *

"Kurenai-sensei, why are we here?" asked Haruno Sakura curiously, voicing the question that her teammates, the ever silent Aburame Shino and the incredibly shy Hyūga Hinata had also been curious about.

"The Chūnin Exams are being held in Konoha over the next month or so," replied Yūhi Kurenai, leading her team to the main gate. "I wanted to get a good look at the Jōnin instructors, and I thought that, since you haven't met any foreign ninja before, you might like to get a good look as well."

"Oh."

Of course, Kurenai would prove to have somewhat unusual luck in this task, as her team arrived at the gate at the same time the five kunoichi representing Hakumeigakure arrived.

"Finally!" said Kushina, rushing inside the village and stretching, her eyes almost immediately rushing to the Hokage Monument. She turned to face the others with a frown as they walked through the gate. "We would've been here sooner, too, if you hadn't insisted on walking so slowly."

"And it's your damn crush that's reduced you from the mature and intelligent woman I know to an overeager little fangirl," said Miyuki. The rather intelligent teenage woman immediately fled with **Kawarimi no Jutsu** as Kushina and Naruto pumped the replacement log full of kunai and shuriken.

As the last two girls laughed, Team 8 stared at the five newcomers with unconcealed curiosity.

The oldest of the group was a stunning woman about a decade older than Kurenai with dark violet eyes and long red hair. She was vaguely familiar to Kurenai for reasons the latter couldn't fathom. She wore a sleeveless blue shirt and black shinobi pants with no hitai-ate.

The second oldest and seeming leader of the group was a teenage kunoichi about a decade younger than Kurenai. She had deep, green-blue eyes and long light brown hair, and she was actually several inches taller than the redhead. She wore black bracers, a large pinkish-white haori with a blue-violet hakama. From her neck hung a gold medallion with a sapphire stone set in the middle, her hitai-ate was tied to her left bicep, and sheathed at her hip was a katana.

Then were the three Genin kunoichi. Kurenai had been surprised by this, since most teams consisted of two shinobi and one kunoichi, plus a leader of either gender, though her team was a clear exception with two kunoichi and one shinobi.

They were all about the same age as Kurenai's students, and the first of them had hip-length red hair and hazel eyes. She wore black pants and a long-sleeved black shirt with a pair of white stripes that ran over her breasts, shoulders and back down her back. She wore a loose wrap of white fabric around her shoulders and falling down her back to around her knees. She wore her hitai-ate on her forehead.

The second had brown eyes and black hair that fell about halfway down her back. She wore a black leather top that left her midriff exposed, black shorts with black ribbons on each leg, and some kind of black cloth hanging from her belt. She wore her hitai-ate on her right bicep.

The last of them seemed to be a year or two older. She was almost as tall as the redhead woman, making her the third tallest of the group, had bright sky blue eyes and sun blonde hair. She was _very_ well developed in the chest area, and wore her long hair in a single braid. Her outfit consisted of blue jeans, an orange shirt under a leather jacket, and blue shinobi sandals, with her hitai-ate worn loosely around her neck the way Hinata wore hers. Curiously, a trio of whisker-like scars adorned each cheek.

The reactions of Team 8 varied. Hinata was shy, as usual, and Shino was stoic as usual, carefully assessing each to judge their abilities. Sakura was mostly surprised to see a team consisting entirely of kunoichi, and was also surprised that they all had long hair. She herself kept her hair short since she felt long hair was impractical.

"Miyuki!" growled the woman.

"Never call my mom a fangirl!" growled the blonde. The teen, Miyuki, merely smirked.

"If Kushina-sama doesn't want to be treated as a fangirl, she shouldn't behave as one," said Miyuki evenly. That was when it clicked for Kurenai.

The woman Uzumaki Kushina. She remembered the woman being a friend of Namikaze Minato during the war, but she'd left in the waning days of the conflict, back just before she'd become a Chūnin.

"Hey, I haven't seen Minato-kun or Konoha in years! I have every right to be excited!" said Kushina.

"You tell her mom!" said the blonde. When Kurenai thought about it, that hair and those eyes bore an uncanny resemblance to the Hokage…

Miyuki disappeared and reappeared behind the blonde, bopping her lightly on the head.

"You be quiet," she said as the blonde rubbed her head lightly. "Until the seals are released and I say otherwise, I'm still your teacher, Naruto-chan."

"Yes, Miyuki-sensei," said Naruto.

"Forget that, let's go!" said Kushina. "We need to meet with the Hokage before we can check in at the hotel!"

"You just want to see him," muttered Miyuki with a slight sigh as Kushina ran off with Naruto at her heels. "Yoshimi-chan, Miyako-chan, let's go!"

As the three walked away, Kurenai continued to watch them, barely concealing her wide eyes.

_No… that girl couldn't be…_

* * *

Minato hated hosting the Chūnin Exams. This was primarily because of how many people came through his office. Some of these Jōnins were nice enough, but others were clearly contemptuous, and this exam would even be the first for those two new villages, Oto and Hakumei.

The sole Oto Jōnin had arrived earlier and had already left for the hotel, but he was curious as to where the Hakumei Jōnin were. He'd been expecting them over an hour ago.

"Minato-kun!" came a sweet and vaguely familiar voice. Minato knew it wasn't one of his fangirls, who usually called him 'Hokage-sama' anyways, because he'd trained himself to automatically react to their voices by fleeing.

The Hokage looked up just as five kunoichi stepped through the doorway, led by a familiar redhead.

"Kushina?" gasped Minato. Kushina smiled brightly.

"I'm glad you remembered me!" said Kushina cheerfully.

"So am I," muttered the teenager behind Kushina as she stepped forward and bowed to Minato.

"Hokage-sama," she said. "I am Kazahana Miyuki, Jōnin Instructor of Team 9 of Hakumeigakure no Sato, consisting of Reikanna Yoshimi, Tsukino Miyako and Uzumaki Naruto."

Kushina glared at Miyuki, while each Genin bowed slightly as they were introduced. Minato nearly choked when Naruto was introduced, and his eyes immediately turned to Kushina, who sighed lightly.

"Can we get them to the hotel first?" asked Kushina. "It's a long story."

* * *

It was two days later that teams began gathering at the Konoha Academy for the first stage of the exam. Most were there simply with the goal of proving themselves. Ten teams were there in preparation for something bigger. One team had a very sinister mission in these exams.

And the Genin from Hakumei were simply eager to aid their village by proving the Twilight village's strength in these exams.

As the tension ran high, Sasuke glanced about, trying to assess these other Genin as best he could. The other rookie Konoha teams—8 and 10—gathered around Sasuke's Team 7, consisting of himself, Akimichi Chōji and Inuzuka Kiba. Team 10 consisted of Chōji's friends, Nara Shikamaru and Yamanaka Ino, and someone that all of the other rookies greatly disliked, Sasuke's cousin, Uchiha Muramase.

Muramase was one of the most stuck-up people Sasuke had ever met, with all the misplaced pride that Sasuke now associated with the Uchiha his brother had slain, and an ego the size of Tsuchi no Kuni. He also hated Sasuke passionately for outdoing him at the Academy without really trying, but as Sasuke understood it, he was stronger because of the lessons Itachi had instilled in him, as opposed to Muramase, who took the lessons of the Uchiha arrogance to heart.

"You know, gathering in a large group is probably gonna make some of the others think you're weak," came a low voice, catching them off-guard. The rookies turned to face a silver-haired Genin wearing glasses and a Konoha hitai-ate smiling at them.

"And you are?" asked Sasuke.

"Yakushi Kabuto," introduced the teen. "I'm a fellow Konoha nin and I guess, embarrassing as it is, you could call me a veteran of the exams."

"Kabuto-san, is this your second time?" asked Sakura. Kabuto chuckled in embarrassment.

"No, it's actually my seventh," he said, blushing in embarrassment. "These exams are held twice a year, every year, so this is my fourth year."

"Wow… you must be pretty weak," said Muramase with a smirk. Sasuke shot his messy-haired cousin a slight glare.

"Or the more likely conclusion: these exams are that tough," said Sasuke. Kabuto chuckled.

"You'd be correct," he said. He pulled something from his pocket. "But there are some advantages to be had in all this. For instance, I've collected a lot of great intelligence, which I've recorded on these." He laid one of the cards on the floor, around which the rookies gathered.

"But… the card's blank," said Ino.

"Not once my chakras been added," said Kabuto, pumping a little chakra into the card. Almost instantly, an image formed on the card.

"Wow, a graph of the countries and attending ninja from each," said Ino. Sakura's eyes focused on a symbol she'd seen just the other day.

"Kabuto-san, which village is that?" she asked, pointing to the symbol. It looked kind of like a sun partially eclipsed by the moon.

"Ah, that's one of the two new villages in the exams," he said. "Hakumei. The country it's been set up in was originally destroyed in the last war. I hear they've only recently recovered. It's a tribute to their resilience that they returned from that at all."

"Do you have info cards on specific ninja?" asked Sasuke.

"Oh? Keeping an eye out for the competition?" asked Kabuto. "Well, sure, though I can't say how accurate any of the information will be."

"Rock Lee from Konoha," said Sasuke. "And Sabaku no Gaara from Suna."

"Oh? You even know their names?" Kabuto sounded disappointed as he quickly withdrew two cards. "That takes all the fun out of it."

"Ok, first is Rock Lee," said Kabuto as the image appeared on the card. "He's a year older than you guys. Mission history: twenty D-rank completed, twelve C-rank. His sensei is Maito Gai. His Taijutsu has improved greatly in this year, the rest is nothing impressive. He gained attention as a talented Genin last year, but didn't participate, so like you guys, it's his first time. His teammates are Hyūga Neji and Tenten."

"And for Sabaku no Gaara…" muttered Kabuto. "Mission history: unknown number of D-ranks completed, eight C-ranks and… wow, a B-rank mission as a Genin. Since he's a newcomer from a foreign country, I don't have much more information on him, but… it seems he returned from all his missions without even a scratch."

"What about those Genin from Hakumei?" asked Sakura as the others digested this. "They seemed kind of… strange."

"I'll see what I have on them," said Kabuto, shuffling his cards and pulling out three more.

"Let's see… Reikanna Yoshimi, Tsukino Miyako and Uzumaki Naruto," he said. "Mission history: D-ranks and C-ranks are unknown… but it seems they've got three B-ranks and even an A-rank. Well… it's not as much of a surprise for a new village. Their Genin will either be really weak or really strong, and this info seems to suggest the latter. I'd be weary of them, but the odds of having trouble with them are pretty low given the number of teams partaking in the exams." Kabuto smiled. "Anyone else? I have info on pretty much everyone else, except for the Oto team. That village was even more recently established than Hakumei, and this is the first most people have likely heard of them. Unlike Hakumei, though, I wouldn't expect too much from them."

Unfortunately for Kabuto, the Oto nin in question overheard this. Irritated, the two boys charged forward to attack him.

However, it was at that instant that a massive murderous intent flooded the room, beyond anything any Genin not from Hakumei had ever felt, as even the experienced Kabuto, stoic Neji and insane Gaara felt themselves suffocating under it. The Oto nin tripped, falling to the ground and sweating in fear. At best shakily, everyone turned to see the source: Uzumaki Naruto, who was very clearly glaring at the Oto nin.

"Don't cause trouble before the exams even start," she said quietly, but in the silent room, her voice was clear to all. The Oto nin fearfully stumbled to their feet, and the killing intent suddenly lifted as Naruto smiled brightly. "Okay?"

Everyone stared at the blonde like she was insane, when smoke suddenly filled the room, and the Jōnin presiding over the first exam appeared.

* * *

Translations:  
_Kazahana Miyuki_—Windflower and Deep Snow. _Kazahana Miyuki_ could be interpreted as "Windflower of Deep Snow".  
_Tsuki-no-Miyako_—The Capital of the Moon, from the Japanese folktale Taketori Monogatari, also known as Kaguya Hime.  
_Yawarakai-te_—Tender Hands. The sword forged by Masamune which would not cut the innocent and undeserving.  
_Hakumeigakure no Sato_—Village Hidden in the Twilight  
_Uzu no Kuni_—Land of Whirlpools  
_Hi no Kuni_—Land of Fire  
_Tsuchi no Kuni_—Land of Earth  
_Hokage_—Fire Shadow  
_Sandaime_—Third  
_Yondaime_—Fourth  
_Kiiroi Senkō_—Yellow Flash  
_Hiraishin no Jutsu_—Flying Thunder God Technique  
_Kawarimi no Jutsu_—Body Replacement Technique

* * *

**Author's Notes: Bits and pieces of this story have been seen elsewhere--Naruto is raised in another village, Naruto really is the Kyuubi and not the host, Naruto is female, Naruto's parents are alive, etc. etc. etc...**

**Anyways, this is the result of the idle hands I get when I don't have access to my desktop. A few things to note is that I did a fair bit of research on kitsune for Naruto. Her abilities will be heavily influenced by this, meaning that while she has Wind-natured chakra as a human, she has both Fire-natured and Lightning-natured chakra as a fox. She also has an incredible mastery of illusions, and as noted by Kurenai, is well-developed for her age.**

**Naruto's teammates also derive from Shinto mythology and the occasional Japanese urban legend. For example, Miyuki's sword, Yawarakai-te is said to the sword forged by Masamune that, when placed in a river, did not cut leaves or fish that passed by its blade, a sword that didn't "cut the innocent and undeserving", although some versions give it the power to heal the innocent instead.**

**As far as pairings go, I'm currently undecided. Minato x Kushina and Asuma x Kurenai are givens. The rest are much more up in the air. Given my love of NaruSaku, there's a distinct possibility of that becoming the pairing, with Sakura at first admiring, then falling for Naruto, and the same is possible with Ino and Hinata. On the other hand, I know that I definitely intend to portray Sasuke, who is very clearly a good guy here, as having a crush on her.**

**Anyways, I'll be heading home tomorrow, so the day after that is when I'll be getting to work on the rest of my fanfics again, so you'll be able to reasonably expect updates again.**

**Please leave a review! Ja ne!  
**


	2. Chapter 2

**Yes, I'm aware that I'm the scum of the earth for leaving this sitting for so long.**

**I wrote the first chapter of this largely because I was stuck in Philadelphia with only my laptop, and merely stepping outside the hotel could make me uncomfortable. The best way to describe it would be to say that I'm sensitive to negative energy, and Philadelphia was overflowing with it.**

**Since then, I've never had to deal with that, so it was never pushing me towards this story that had brought me some relief from that. Another thing is that I really had _no_ idea what I was going to do when I started this, and I spent a long time struggling to even finish the first scene.**

**Ironically, recent manga developments, despite smacking this story over the head in several ways, has helped to inspire me on what I want to do with this a bit more. Especially the latest chapter with all the tailed beasts.**

**So, without further ado, I present you with the finally released second chapter of _Tale of the Kitsune_.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the associated characters. I own the OCs, who are all based on some form of Japanese mythology; the mythology part also applies to the Naruto of this story.**

* * *

There were currently almost a dozen different occupants of Konoha's jōnin lounge, including Kurenai, the legendary Copy Nin Hatake Kakashi, and Sarutobi Asuma, the son of the Sandaime Hokage. There was also Kakashi's self-proclaimed 'Eternal Rival', Maito Gai, who was acting reasonably serious in a situation that itself wasn't particular serious, a relief for all present.

"You don't think any of them will make it through the first test?" questioned Kakashi, eyeing Asuma lazily as the chain-smoker flicked some ash from his cigarette.

"The proctor of the first exam is Morino Ibiki," he said simply.

"That sadist?" Kakashi was caught off-guard; he hadn't expected that when he'd nominated his students for this.

"Sadist?" questioned Kurenai, glancing between them.

"You're still a rookie jōnin," commented Asuma. "It's not a surprise you wouldn't have heard yet."

Gai nodded, leaning against the wall, arms crossed.

"I'm not worried about my own students," he said. "Ibiki won't go far enough for them in this situation, but he's going to break a lot of others."

"Oh?" interjected a new voice suddenly, drawing the attention of the four jōnin to a young woman. Kurenai was surprised, immediately recognizing her as the jōnin from Hakumei—Miyuki, if she remembered right. "If I might ask, what do you mean?"

Kakashi, Gai and Asuma shared an uncertain look between them before the chain-smoker voiced their thoughts.

"Why are you here?" he asked curiously. "You're one of the foreign jōnin, right?"

"Yes," she replied. "My name is Kazahana Miyuki. My students are here representing Hakumeigakure."

"Ah, the twilight village," said Kakashi softly.

"Well," said Asuma, deciding there was no harm in sharing with her. "Ibiki is the head of interrogations; he's a master of psychological warfare. He'll find your buttons, press them, hold them, and he won't give up until his target's a broken mess. And it won't take him long, either."

"Psychological warfare, huh?" Miyuki's left eyebrow rose in a lazy motion that would've made Kakashi proud if he'd actually cared. "Then I guess I don't have to worry about my girls."

Asuma chuckled.

"Don't be so certain of that," he said coolly. "Ibiki heads interrogation for a reason."

"And that would worry me… if he were administering the tests individually and treating this with full seriousness," said Miyuki. "Somehow, I doubt he'd be allowed to go anywhere near far enough to be dangerous."

* * *

The genin all took their seats after the proctor for the first exam, Morino Ibiki, explained to them exactly how this test would work. Attitudes ranged from nervous to cocky, but the cool confidence of three particular teams really stuck out.

Those were Team Gai from Konoha, Team Baki from Suna and Team Miyuki from Hakumei. Ibiki had to admire their confidence, but a good chunk of his attention was focused on Uzumaki Naruto in particular.

The Hokage had briefed all of the exam proctors on the Hakumei ninja; he trusted Kushina, of course, but the safety of Konoha came first. It only made sense to be weary of a primordial beast centuries older than any existing nation, even if it _was_ sealed into human form. Jinchūriki could be dangerous enough—but Naruto was something entirely different. Something it was only common sense to be weary of.

Those keeping watch out for cheaters were taking down notes constantly—but they were only chūnin, and Ibiki's angle also helped. He spotted cheaters that slipped the watchers by, and those who were caught but managed to keep it below the level that would disqualify them.

His first surprise came when several of the actual genin finished their paper without any sign of cheating that he could catch. Haruno Sakura, Nara Shikamaru and Uzumaki Naruto. Then, as soon as Naruto finished, her teammates started on their papers. Ibiki's eyes narrowed, only a small part of his brain noting the way Yamanaka Ino seemed to collapse on her desk and Haruno shifting slightly before picking up and looking at her paper very closely.

Ibiki knew Team Miyuki was cheating somehow; intuition and observation allowed him to discern that much. What he couldn't figure out was _how_ they were doing it.

Of course, then Naruto caught his eye. She was looking at him with a mischievous, fox-like grin, and he suddenly realized it wasn't fair that there was a fox several centuries old in the exams. But really, how was he supposed to call the girl out on what she was?

It was, more or less, as Ibiki had guessed, though. Naruto had used her **Kogen no Jutsu** to project an illusion of her own exam paper in front of her teammates. Her illusion was only visible to her teammates though, so it was impossible to discern just what it was they were reading.

Naruto herself, of course, was possessed of a fox's cunning and wisdom. Also, incentive: there were dogs nearby. She did _not_ like dogs. She wanted to get through this, and hoped the dogs would be too stupid to continue; she didn't have a high opinion of their intelligence.

Left with little to do for the remaining forty or so minutes until the time for the tenth question, Naruto casually glanced around, assessing what some of the other genin were doing.

It didn't take her long to spot several particular standouts. There were a few obvious Uchiha here and there, one of whom she thought was kind of cute. Most were using their Sharingan to get the answers, not all that different from the Hyūga in the crowd with their Byakugan. At least one of those with dogs was getting the answers from his pet, who was sitting on his head. She saw that rosette girl from the village gates the other day set down her paper before slumping a bit, then shaking her head, as if warding off drowsiness, and wondered what happened to the girl.

She also spotted other things, like a rather obvious mirror, and… she paused, sniffing slightly. Now that was paying more attention and filtering things out more, she smelled snake, and… tanuki. That… was a surprise. She looked about, trying to find the source, and her eyes soon fell upon a red-haired boy several rows in front of her, and about a dozen seats to the left. Spotting him through the see of heads would've been difficult if she weren't what she was. But that didn't change things. As she stared at him, the redhead shifted slightly, head turning and his eyes meeting hers.

In that instant, what little doubt she had was wiped away. It was him… her 'brother', Shukaku. This was a surprise, and a little troubling at the same time. She needed to warn Miyako and Yoshimi about him when the current exam finished, and then tell her mom and Miyuki as soon as she saw them again.

Looking away from the Ichibi-Jichūriki, Naruto glanced at the clock and let out a small sigh, deciding to wait with whatever patience she had.

Several centuries of life and all the wisdom that entailed. You'd think she'd have a bit more patience, and she probably did as a Bijū, but she was also human now, and she'd picked up a lot of her mother's personality in the process.

As the minutes passed, more and more of those who hadn't been able to answer the questions or cheated themselves the answers in the first few minutes were beginning to sweat, get desperate, and slip up. One by one, team after team was disqualified by the chūnin keeping an eye out for cheating. Soon, but not _quite_ soon enough for Naruto, the first forty-five minutes were up, and it was time for question number ten.

Ibiki smirked, looking the room over. He'd started with fifty-two teams, a hundred and fifty-six genin total. There were now thirty-three teams, ninety-nine genin. A strong batch after all; he was particularly surprised to see that all the rookies from Konoha were still in the running; he'd have to check how many times they were caught cheating later.

"So… it seems the weak of mind have already been weeded out," said Ibiki casually. "But I'm not quite satisfied with these numbers, so I think we'll go ahead and move on to the tenth question."

_Finally!_ thought Naruto.

"However, I think it only fair to warn you: there will be a… _special_ rule regarding this question. I call it a 'hopeless' rule."

There were a few soft murmurs from the genin, but nothing particularly distinct.

"First…" said Ibiki, "you are all going to choose if you want to take this question or not.

"Choose?" exclaimed Temari, a Suna genin, from near the back row. "Then what will happen if we refuse?"

"If you refuse?" said Ibiki, smirking sadistically. "I would think that obvious. Your points will be reduced to zero—in other words, you fail, and you take your teammates along with you."

"What the hell? Why even give us a choice? Obviously we're going to take the question!" cried someone from the left side of the room.

"Because of the special rule I mentioned earlier," said Ibiki. "If you choose to take the question and get it wrong… then you will be barred from participating in the Chūnin Exams ever again."

Ibiki's voice was calm, perfectly deadpan, and ruthlessly serious. Nearly half of those still there started shaking or froze up in fright.

"What kind of crazy rule is that?" cried Inuzuka Kiba, standing to his feet and pointing an accusing finger at Ibiki. "There are people here who have taken the exam in the past!" The puppy sitting on Kiba's head, Akamaru, barked in agreement. Ibiki chuckled in response.

"You were… a rather unlucky group," said Ibiki coldly. "This year, _I_ am the rule. There are different proctors each year, and you were the unfortunate ones to get _me_. But look on the bright side: I'm giving you the option of quitting now and preserving your chances for when you're more confident and better prepared. Next year, or the year after that." Ibiki chuckled again.

The genin… they were almost all starting to sweat, even some of the more experienced ones. Those who had been here before looked especially scared; they'd tried and failed so many times, yet this failure would mean they'd never get the chance again. There were still a few who stood out with their clear confidence, but they were few and far between.

"So… let us begin," said Ibiki. "Those who wish to opt out of taking the tenth question, raise your hand. Once we've tallied your numbers and you've left, we'll continue to the final question for those who remain. You have till there are only ten minutes remaining to make your choice… oh, look, we've been debating so long that there are only two minutes left to make your decision. I guess you'd better think fast."

Ibiki successfully wiped the smirk off his face. It only took about fifteen seconds before the first genin quit, apologizing to his teammates. Soon after, another five genin quit, taking their teams with them.

He was now down to twenty-seven teams. He wondered how long it would take till they broke. Then, he noticed something odd.

Uzumaki Naruto was shaking.

_Oh crap!_ thought Miyako as she noticed Naruto's condition. _Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap! I hope Naruto-chan doesn't piss him off…_

_Yes! Come on Naru-chan, bite his head off!_ thought Yoshimi—though she would _never_ admit to that internal side of her that so sharply contrasted her more casual, even aloof, demeanor.

Another twenty seconds passed as Naruto's trembling increased, drawing everyone else's attention. Then, the blonde snapped.

"You mean to say that I spent the last forty minutes of my life sitting around bored so you could try to scare me off with that pathetic excuse of a 'hopeless rule'?" she practically screamed. The genin next to her all covered their ears. Miyako sighed while Yoshimi cackled internally. Ibiki stared at the blonde in complete surprise.

"Let me tell you something right now mister big bad scarface!" shouted Naruto. "I've spent the last two months hunting down sociopathic rogue nin from villages too pathetic to clean up their own messes! I've seen terrors that would break the minds of mere mortals! I've _spat_ the Shinigami in the face and shoved fire down his throat to try and burn off that bad breath of his! I have watched monsters your puny brain could barely comprehend come to life and run wild in the world! For the love of the Rikudō Sennin! My _mother_ was nicknamed the _Whirlpool of Bloody Death_ and I've been taught by a woman who can slice mountains by _looking_ at them funny! If you want to make this wait worth my time and actually scare me, then bring on an eldritch abomination that would make the _Kyūbi no Yōko tremble_! If you've got none of that, then stop wasting my time!"

Naruto panted. Miyako buried her face in her hands. Yoshimi smirked.

All the genin, even Kabuto, Gaara and Neji, inched their chairs a bit further away from the insane blonde. The chūnin looked uncertain.

Ibiki… Ibiki _laughed_.

"Nice kid," he said. "You're even more hot-blooded than your mother. Alright, then let me give everyone an extra… oh, sixty seconds and ask another question: who here has the guts to stick around and continue this exam with Uzumaki-san there? If you'd like to leave, feel free to raise your hands."

No one was surprised when all four of those sitting around Naruto immediately threw their hands into the air. Several more hands rose into the air around the room, disqualifying an additional six teams total.

As they departed, Ibiki gave a quick look over the remaining sixty-three genin. He smirked slightly, realizing no one else was going to leave.

_If anything_, he thought to himself. _Those left are more likely to stay because of what she said. For those who weren't frightened away, what she said has told them a lot about what our world is really like._

Ibiki stepped forward a bit.

"Nice determination everyone," he said evenly. "You might want to exaggerate less in the future, Uzumaki-san; that bit about the Shinigami may've been overkill, but if that doesn't intimidate you, then I can't think of anything that will. Now, for the first exam, the sixty-three genin remaining in this room… pass."

"Huh?"

Ibiki had to suppress a laugh at the dumbstruck expressions he was getting. Then, Haruno shot to her feet.

"Wait, what's the meaning of that?" she demanded. "We pass already? What about the tenth question?"

Ibiki laughed slightly.

"There was no such thing to begin with," he said. "Or, if you prefer, you can call the two-choice question the tenth question."

"What?"

"Wait a minute!" said Temari. "Then what were those previous nine questions? It was a waste of time!"

"No, it's not," said Ibiki dismissively. "The nine questions served their purpose already: to test each individual or team's abilities to gather or relay information unnoticed."

"Gather or relay information?"

"First, this test's purpose lies in the first rule," said Ibiki. "Your pass-fail decision is based on your three-person teams. By doing so, we placed an enormous amount of pressure on each of you to not be a burden to your team. At the same time, the questions on this test could not be answered by ordinary genin; to put it simply, you had to cheat to get the right answers. To help facilitate this, we snuck two chūnin in amongst you to be targets of that cheating."

As he said this, two of the genin raised their hands, indicating themselves as the chūnin in question.

"As long as you weren't caught cheating too many times, you would be okay. Of course, some of you pulled it off without cheating… and others pulled it off without getting caught at all. Take the kunoichi of Hakumei: it was pretty obvious to me that they were cheating _somehow_… yet I couldn't figure out how." He glanced at the chūnin, who all shook their heads, indicating the same.

"Neither could anyone else it seems," said Ibiki, refocusing on the genin. "Our situation meant it was clear to us what they were doing. Since they weren't caught though, in a situation where you needed to gather or relay information faced with enemies, the enemies in question would be unaware." He chuckled. "I admit though, I am curious: how _did_ you three do it?"

"Sorry," said Naruto with a mischievous wink. "That's for us to know and for you to die of curiosity about."

Ibiki chuckled and decided to move on, taking off his bandana, revealing the damage to his head, to the disgust of many of the genin.

"On the field of war and battle, information is a valuable currency that can buy the lives of your teammates and your village and even purchase victory over the enemy," said Ibiki. "But if your information is wrong, then it could cost you, your team, your friends, your family and your village dearly. Those who foolishly couldn't gather information without getting caught and, in a combat situation, risking misleading information, were thrown out. Weeding out such people was the purpose of those nine questions."

"And the tenth?" asked Temari.

"The most essential question," said Ibiki. "In place of that choice—take a chance and potentially never advance, or wait till next year—let me present you with a choice an actual chūnin would have: there is a mission to capture a secret document. Your enemies are ninja from other villages, but their numbers and strengths are unknown to you. Furthermore, there is a chance that they have traps waiting for you. The lives of yourself and your team are on the line; do you accept and risk those lives, or refuse and wait for a safer mission?"

Everyone stared at Ibiki in surprise.

"For a chūnin, the correct answer is to accept the mission," said Ibiki. "As ninja, you cannot avoid those dangerous situations where you are gambling not only your own life but those of others. Lacking confidence, allowing yourself to say 'there will always be next time'… people like that are unfit to become chūnin. That is my belief. But those here have demonstrated a readiness to take those chances, confront those risks… and so, all of you pass. The first stage of this Chūnin Selection Exam has ended. I wish you all the best of luck on the remaining exams… you're gonna need it. Compared to what you've got coming, _I_ was downright friendly."

Several genin gulped slightly. However, before anything else could be said, a cloth ball broke through the window.

* * *

"It really is good to hear that Uzu has recovered on some level," said Minato as he ate in his office with Kushina. "But Naruto… I honestly wouldn't believe something like that was possible."

"Uzushiogakure was home to a great many powerful clans," said Kushina softly. "The Tenmachi were one of the most unique of those."

"Mmm… so… my break isn't gonna last much longer. Tell me more about Naruto and her teammates."

"Okay… how about 'we have unleashed the most powerful genin imaginable upon your village'? How's that sound?"

"Um…"

"Oh, alright," said Kushina with a dramatic sigh. "Naruto is a mass of living chakra inside; nothing can be done to change that. She has a literally infinite supply of chakra to draw upon, and a natural mastery over it. She had better chakra control than you could ever hope for when she was a _baby_. She also has illusions powerful enough that not even the Sharingan can pierce them normally, and a triple chakra nature: wind, fire and lightning."

Minato whistled slightly.

"As for the others… well, Yoshimi possesses a powerful kekkei genkai, called Mononoke, which grants her access to some… unique abilities, and the power to summon a variety of unconventional creatures for a wide variety of purposes. Miyako is the heir of the Tsukino Clan, said to be the descendants of Kaguya-hime, and possesses a number of jutsu tied into purification and light; they're pretty handy, but I'll let the exams show you what she can really do."

"Finally, Miyuki is a master of wind chakra, knows more ninjutsu than I could ever hope to count, is pretty good at genjutsu, and has perfected all she knows about swordsmanship to an art form. And she was chosen by Yawarakai-te; do you know the stories behind it?"

"Not really," admitted Minato.

"Well, the sword is a powerful artifact, pre-dating the rise of the ninja; pre-dating the samurai even… no one's really sure how old it is. It's said that it was forged by a legendary swordsmith to meet a challenge by an apprentice of his. The apprentice's sword was a powerful force of destruction, capable of slicing a river merely by being placed in it, cutting leaves and fish as they passed by. The master's sword, though, healed all that passed by it of the damage caused by the first sword. That was Yawarakai-te, and it can only be wielded by those it deems worthy. To try and force it to obey you otherwise is to be the recipient of a terrible curse."

"So, you can imagine my delight when Miyuki was chosen by the sword; first person to wield it since the foundation of the hidden villages. She's a really good teacher too, even if she won't admit to it, and Naruto, Yoshimi and Miyako are wonderful girls, always eager to learn."

Minato stared at Kushina, surprised. She spoke of the other kunoichi as if they were all her daughters, not just Naruto. And perhaps, that was understandable, given all that had happened to their families.

* * *

"Great timing Anko," said Ibiki, stepping around the canvas hung up in front of him by kunai. "You've just ruined the atmosphere and made yourself look silly."

The woman who'd busted through the window wrapped in the canvas now hanging up behind her, Mitarashi Anko, glared at Ibiki.

"You were supposed to have been finished soon enough that that wouldn't be a problem!" she growled.

"There are some strange ones here," said Ibiki with a slight shrug. Anko sighed, glancing back at the confused genin and doing a quick count while the two chūnin hidden among them joined those off to the side.

"Wait, sixty-three genin? You let twenty-one teams pass? Bah! You've gone soft Ibiki!" said Anko.

"In addition to a strange group, there are many extraordinary ones present this year," said Ibiki coolly.

"Is that right? Oh well; I'm gonna make more than half of them fail the next exam anyway…" said Anko, trailing off a bit as she licked a kunai that had suddenly appeared in her hand. Ah… that shuddering of terror… that was _exactly_ what she'd _really_ been looking for.

"More than half?" whispered Sakura in shock.

"We'll discuss the details tomorrow," said Anko. "Ask your jōnin senseis about the rally point and time. That is all. Dismissed."

* * *

That night, after the genin had gone to bed, Kushina and Miyuki met to discuss the information Naruto had given them.

"Shukaku," muttered Miyuki. "The rumor was that the Ichibi had been sealed into the Kazekage's son. Still, that they'd send him here is… troubling."

"Naruto should be able to handle it though," said Kushina. "Shukaku hates her guts, but even he knows better than to seriously cross Kurama."

"And if 'Yōko' gets loose?" questioned Miyuki. "You won't have a problem handling it, right?"

"Have a little faith in Naruto."

"I do… its Yōko I don't have faith in. It's been getting better over the years, but there's no denying that a part of Naruto is still the primordial beast from before. Speaking of which, have you warned the Hokage about that?"

"No," admitted Kushina. "If something goes wrong and Yōko gets loose, it'll be our responsibility to clean it up."

"Understood," said Miyuki. "Once the second exam is done, will you be heading home to check up on things?"

"Yes, the archive is the highest priority, and you can't just walk away during that time. I'll handle things back home."

* * *

When Naruto slept, she dreamt like every ordinary person. But at the same time, she could do so much more.

She was special; there really wasn't any denying that. She knew more about the world than any living individual, with only her brethren possessing the knowledge she did. Not only that, but she possessed incredible power, power that even all eight of her brothers together could only dream of.

The others had called Kurama arrogant, and not without reason. He had been arrogant, but he had also been _right_: his power far surpassed the others, and each additional tail bestowed even more power than the last. The difference in power between Kurama and Gyūki was greater than the gap between Gyūki and Chōmei, and enormously greater than the gap between Matatabi and Shukaku.

And it wasn't just raw power; of all the Bijū, Kurama was closest not only to their progenitor, but also to their 'father'. Consciously or not, the Old Man had given Kurama a portion of his power as well. And although Naruto had access to only a fraction of her power as Kurama right now, things were gradually changing, and she could still communicate with the others through her dreams.

She'd mostly avoided that in the past, though. Shukaku loathed her, Matatabi was always on Shukaku's side against her, Son and Kokūo would've been furious to see her as she was now, Isobu was out of contact for some reason, and she'd once called Saiken a violent maniac and that guy could hold one hell of a grudge.

So, in her dreams, when she did decide to see the others, it was only ever with Gyūki and Chōmei, the ones she'd respected the most in her previous life. She'd been surprised to learn that Gyūki actually got along well with his current host, and Chōmei, after some initial amusement at Naruto's current condition, had confided to her how badly Chōmei's host, Fū, was treated by the village.

Naruto tried to get Chōmei to talk Fū into coming to Hakumei somehow, but the Nanabi had refused; apparently, he was hoping Fū would snap and let him loose. Naruto had pretty much cut off contact at that point, only talking to Gyūki afterwards, and only rarely as he was often busy working with Killer Bee.

Now, however, Naruto was trying to contact Shukaku. It was probably overdo anyways.

"Shukaku?" she called uncertainly. It was always difficult, trying to actually _find_ the others beneath the seals. But she'd done it in the past, so she was sure she could do it again. "Come on, I know you're here somewhere, stop hiding from me."

She felt the attack coming before she actually heard anything, spinning about just in time to see Shukaku's hand slam into her, pressing her to the ground.

"**WHO ARE YOU?**" he screeched at her, making her wince.

"Really, Shukaku?" she said. "What, have the years with humans made you lose the concept of an indoor voice? No need to shout." Shukaku pressed her down further, drawing another wince.

"**How did you get in here?**" he growled out.

"Thanks for quieting down," she said. "As for how I got here… I'm a Bijū, little brother, of course I can get in here."

"**Lies,**" growled Shukaku. "**You're a human. I saw you through the boy earlier today; a remarkably malevolent human despite appearances, but a human nonetheless.**"

Naruto sighed, closing her eyes. Chains shot up from the ground, gripping Shukaku and yanking him onto his back, swiftly tightening to hold him to the ground as Naruto stood up and brushed herself off before leaping over to the struggling tanuki.

"Okay, I concede that I'm also a human now, yeesh," she said, walking up to his head. "But give me a little credit, would you? I know most of you wouldn't pull your tails through that, but I'm not so easily subdued."

Shukaku's eyes widened.

"**KURAMA!**" he roared, realizing who she was. Naruto instinctively readied herself for a fight, but then realized that he was… laughing?

"**Oh, that's rich!**" he cackled. "**How the mighty have fallen! Where are your precious tails that signify your power **_**now**_**, Kurama? It looks like they weren't enough! Why, I'm the **_**'weakest'**_** of us all and even I'm still my true self! Look at you, some pathetic human girl now. Tell me, have the others expressed my sentiments? Do they think you no longer deserve the name given to you by the Sennin?**"

"Watch it Shukaku," growled Naruto, the chains tightening, her eyes burning with rage as her pupils turned to fox slits and her irises began to glow dark red. "I may not have access to my full power right now, but I'm still powerful enough to crush you here and now. Besides, before my run-in with the leftovers of Uzu, none of has had ever had to tangle with a Tenmachi!"

_That_ shut the tanuki up.

"**Tenmachi**?" he echoed.

"Yes, _Tenmachi_," said Naruto. "You know, that group the Old Man left behind in case we ever got rowdy or too much like our progenitor? Yeah, I got to see first-hand just how the fuck they were planning on handling us and look what happened to me."

"Also: _never_," growled Naruto, "even _insinuate_ that I should have my name taken from me. No matter what else happens, that name is the one given to me by the Old Man and it's _mine_. I know you hate me Shukaku, but that's going too far."

Shukaku said nothing.

"Now… why are you here?" asked Naruto. "Why would the Kazekage send your host here?"

"**Why should I tell you?**"

"Because I don't want to kill you or the boy," said Naruto. Shukaku's eyes widened in surprise. "I know you'll recover eventually from that sort of death, but it's the most painful thing in the world isn't it? Listen, I'm not gonna take back what I said about our tails being a measure of our power. You guys don't have my perspective on it, and I know I was an arrogant prick, but I never meant it as an insult to you." Naruto's expression softened. "You're still strong. You're still one of my little brothers. Now that I'm more in touch with who I was, I still want to look out for you."

"**You think a mere apology will be enough for my forgiveness?**"

"No," admitted Naruto. "Listen, if you really hate me that much, I'll leave you alone. Just please don't force me to kill you."

With that, Naruto turned and walked away, releasing Shukaku from the chains. The tanuki watched her disappear into the shadows of this dark mindscape, confusion in his eyes.

Just what had happened to that bastard he'd hated so much?

* * *

**Author's Note: Initially, I'd planned to get to the second exam, but wound up stalled after the scene with Kushina and Miyuki. Then, I got inspired to do the final scene like, an hour ago, sat down to write it, and there it was.**

**I really liked the final scene; it's a little surreal, and strangely tear jerking for me. Here we have Naruto trying to apologize for being a complete asshole in her past life and Shukaku gives her the cold shoulder. I know what it's like to have family angry at you, so Naruto's situation with Shukaku hits me pretty hard.**

**Anyways, I really don't have much to say. I haven't lately, maybe just because I've been so exhausted. With a little luck, maybe I can continue this story to its conclusion, but it's going to be shorter than my usual fare; if possible, I'm gonna try and keep it under 100,000 words, because just trying to bring _one_ Naruto fic (_Bloodlines_) through the full story is difficult and time consuming enough.**

**Please leave reviews, even if it's just to give me the third degree for never updating! I'm sorry for all of that! V_V  
**


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